1. Field
Apparatuses and methods consistent with the exemplary embodiments relate to an electronic device and a firmware upgrading method thereof, and more particularly to an electronic device and a firmware upgrading method in which a firmware image required for operating the electronic device can be restored or upgraded.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, firmware refers to a micro-program for controlling hardware stored in a read only memory (ROM). From a program point of view, the firmware is equal to software but different from general application software since it is closely related with hardware. Thus, the firmware has characteristics of both software and hardware.
A related art digital electronic device operates using the firmware. In the case of a digital television (DTV) and a digital broadcasting receiver such as a set-top box, microcontroller units (MCU) for controlling respective components performing functions of an infrared (IR) module, a graphic card, video and audio codec, a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) module, etc. may operate based on the firmware. In this case, a manufacturer or a user of the digital electronic device replaces the firmware instead of replacing the hardware of the respective components, so that the improved function of the firmware can be performed.
A firmware image of the digital electronic device may be partially damaged by various external factors such as an electric shock or the like. In this case, the damaged firmware image can be restored through rewriting with a firmware image received from an external source by an over-the-air (OTA) method. Also, a firmware image having a higher version than the firmware image being currently used with regard to a certain component may be received to upgrade the current firmware image.
While the firmware image is restored from damage or upgraded to a higher version, the component operating based on the corresponding firmware image cannot operate normally. Therefore, it has been typical of a related art electronic device to perform a normal operation after the firmware image is completely restored or upgraded, and thus a problem arises in that normal service provided through the electronic device is interrupted while restoring or upgrading the firmware image.
Also, in consideration of security of the firmware image to be upgraded, there is a need to determine whether contents of data have been changed. However, when the firmware image is received by the related art OTA method, there is no way to determine whether it is provided from a legal source. Accordingly, the related art OTA method is vulnerable to hacking.